The present invention relates to automatically via a ski pole transmitter releasing ski bindings by pushing a button on the ski pole bindings or another transmitter button remote from the ski bindings and optionally activating a sound module on the ski.
It is estimated that over 10,000 crippling knee injuries occur each ski season in Colorado, U.S.A., alone. Extrapolating worldwide there might be over 50,000 knee injuries each ski season worldwide. Great advances have been made in downhill ski bindings to automatically release during violent forward falls. Several problems exist with the best downhill ski bindings.
The most serious problem is the slow, twisting backward fall. Most anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur with this type of fall. Expert skiers teaching children fall during a lesson and tear their ACL. A damaged ACL can be treated with a modern, complex, and expensive surgery called a patella tendon graft replacement for the ACL. Other body parts such as the hamstring tendon can also be used to replace the damaged ACL.
Thus, two surgeries are required. First a body part such as the patella tendon is harvested. Second the damaged ACL is removed and replaced with the harvested body part.
A good result requires six months of the replacement ACL to gain strength and function like the original ACL. About a year""s physical therapy is required to regain maximum use of the leg. Two wounds must heel, without infection. Stiffness in the knee joint sometimes leads to loss of full range of motion. Atrophy of the leg muscles from the down time of surgery adds stress to the already weakened knee. Additional ACL and related injuries do occur. An average cost of one procedure with therapy is about $15,000.00.
All this misery can stem from one careless fall backwards while standing in the ski line. Following your child at 3 mph can lead to a slow backwards fall and a crippling ACL injury. Nobody has invented a working solution to this one worst injury so frequently caused by a careless moment on downhill skis.
A large portion (perhaps half) of all ACL injuries occur at slow speeds falling backwards. Therefore, a couple of seconds of reaction time exists for a trained skier (either novice or expert) to push an emergency release button on his ski pole handle and totally eject from his skis. With the present invention by the time the skier hits the ground, he""s out of his skis without exerting any rotational torque to his knees. Properly trained skiers using the present invention can reduce the risk of ACL injury by a large percent, perhaps even half. This could mean 25,000 fewer worldwide ACL injuries a year and a much safer sport overall.
Other uses for this emergency release system (also called a bail out(trademark) system) include easy release for beginners so they can spend less time learning to stand up, and more time skiing. Upside down skiers in a tree hole can quickly release and quickly get out of a dangerous situation. A lost ski can be found in powder by activating a sound module powered by the same battery as is the binding release mechanism.
The basic principle of the present invention is to mount the heel and/or toe release segment of a ski binding on a short track. Pushing the release button energizes a stored force on the ski to move the heel and/or toe binding along the track to a position larger than the ski boot. The result is a size 10 boot in a size 12 binding. The skier is instantly free of his skis.
To remount the skier resets his binding to the loaded and properly sized position, steps in, and skis as usual.
Nowak describes a heel binding member which is mounted on a plate. The plate 1 has a forward axle 41 which allows the heel binding member to pivot up a small distance, thereby activating a force receiver which releases a releasable heel jaw 17xe2x80x2 at a preset upward force. The plate 1 also has a centrally located pin and socket joint to allow the plate 1 to slide left and right a small distance, thereby activating the force receiver which releases the releasable heel jaw 17xe2x80x2 at a preset side to side force. The rear of the plate also has a ski fixed abutment 2 which houses the force receiver. Thus, the plate 1 requires three anchor points as taught by Nowak. Nowak does not teach nor support a pivotable heel plate which has only a single axle attachment to the ski, wherein the pivotable heel plate supports a prior art spring action step in heel binding member.
The Arduin references are assigned to Salomon(copyright), which company also makes the new Pilot(copyright) system noted in Applicant""s specification. Arduin ""122 at col. 3, line 61, states that the toe and heel elements are affixed to the stiffening blade 5 which is affixed to the ski 4 (see FIG. 4). One embodiment shows stiffening blade 5 as a single piece, and one shows it to be two portions (col. 6, line 43). In either case the stiffening blade 5 supports the heel binding member along a plurality of contact points with the base of the ski. The Pilot(copyright) system only has a single pivot support structure for attachment of the pivotable heel plate to the base of the ski.
The main aspect of the present invention is to provide a track on a ski binding element, wherein a remote release button powers the ski binding element to move on the track to a position larger than the skier""s proper boot and binding locked position.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a transmitter button on a ski pole to activate the movement of the ski binding on the track.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a spring having an electronically activated release mechanism on the ski to move the binding element on the track.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a compressed gas canister on the ski to move the ski binding element on the track.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a mounting plate with a track to house a toe and heel element of a ski binding.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a loud xe2x80x9cbangxe2x80x9d noise by remote control in order to locate a ski lost in powder.
Another aspect of the present invention is to use colored gas to more easily locate a lost ski in powder by remote control.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a sound module such as a chirper chip on the ski binding to remotely sound off the sound module to help locate a lost ski.
Another aspect of the present invention is to mount the release mechanism on a pivoting mounting plate on either the toe or heel binding segment (or both), wherein the pivoting mounting plate is designed to create a xe2x80x9cno flat spotxe2x80x9d curved edge in a carved turn.
Other aspects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.
The preferred embodiment uses the stored energy of a spring in a housing mounted to the rear of a ski binding heel element. A radio signal activated mechanism releases the spring which moves the ski binding heel element back along a track to very rapidly release a skier from his binding.
To reload the spring a ratchet and handle may be used to load the spring and move the ski binding heel element forward to the skiing position.
All normal functions of a modern, forward release ski binding remain intact.
The preferred embodiment of the track style release binding is factory built with the initial ski binding integrated into the ski via a pivoting mounting plate.